Vietnamese women's football and the chance to reach the final.

The Vietnamese women's team is in a difficult situation. Although they won 7-0 against Malaysia in their opening match, a 0-1 defeat against the Philippines means they are not yet guaranteed to advance to the next round.

The Vietnamese women's team is aiming for a place in the final. Photo: VFF

While the Myanmar women's team is leading with 6 points after two consecutive wins and only needs a draw against the Vietnam women's team to advance to the semi-finals and secure the top spot, in the other match being played at the same time, the Philippines women's team will have their fate in their own hands when they face the weakest opponent in the group, Malaysia (who have lost two matches and conceded 10 goals), and a victory would not be surprising.

Given the importance of the match, the Vietnamese women's team showed determination to overcome the difficulties. Ultimately, the Vietnamese women's team won 2-0 against Myanmar with a convincing performance and advanced to the semi-finals as group B winners. Coach Mai Duc Chung's team earned 6 points and a goal difference of +8. In the other match played at the same time, the Philippines defeated Malaysia 6-0. This result only allowed The Akzals to advance to the semi-finals as group B runners-up, with 6 points and a goal difference of +5.

Coach Mai Duc Chung commented after the match: “Today, in front of a large Myanmar audience, the players not only overcame the pressure but also played with more enthusiasm.” After the loss to the Philippines, the coaching staff adjusted tactics, proactively pushing the team forward to attack. Coach Mai Duc Chung said: “If we played defensively, it would be very difficult. We were forced to attack to score goals, and this change proved to be the right one.”

Bringing in Huỳnh Như to control the tempo, adding two young midfielders to reinforce the midfield, and having a stable trio of central defenders – helped the team control the match well. Both goals by Vạn Sự and Thùy came from well-rehearsed attacking situations. Coach Mai Đức Chung praised Vạn Sự's decisiveness in his header despite being only 1.53m tall.

He also praised Tran Thi Duyen – a player who has performed steadily in three consecutive matches, both effectively defending and directly assisting the opening goal.

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan was present to directly observe and highly appreciated the efforts of both teams in overcoming difficulties and pressure to bring about victories in crucial matches. The fact that both teams led 2-0 in the first half and took the top spot in the group is a very important factor for the subsequent calculations in the semi-final match.

Coach Mai Duc Chung's team will face Indonesia in the semi-finals of the women's football tournament at the 33rd SEA Games. This is considered an "easy" match for the Vietnamese women's team, as their opponent is rated much lower. This presents an opportunity for the Vietnamese women's team to secure a place in the final.

In their most recent encounter, the Vietnamese women's team thrashed Indonesia 7-0 to advance to the semi-finals of the 2025 AFF Cup. In previous matches, Vietnam has consistently won convincingly. Looking at that head-to-head history, the Vietnamese women's team holds the advantage.

The Vietnamese women's team's goal is to defend their championship title. Their next challenge is the semi-final, where the players need to deliver a convincing performance. If they reach the final, coach Mai Duc Chung's team will face the winner of the Thailand-Philippines match. That will be a real test. The semi-final against a supposedly weaker opponent also provides coach Mai Duc Chung with an opportunity to prepare for the big match.

The semi-final match between the Vietnamese and Indonesian women's teams will take place at 4 PM on December 14th.

Vietnam women's futsal team wins opening match at SEA Games 33.
On the afternoon of December 12th, the Vietnamese women's futsal team played their opening match at the 33rd SEA Games against Indonesia. In the end, coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang's team secured an excellent 3-1 victory after two challenging halves. This win gives the Vietnamese women's futsal team a strong start, building momentum for their next match against Myanmar on December 14th.
Commenting on the match results, coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang said the coaching staff was satisfied with the victory: “The first match is always the most difficult of the season. The whole team overcame it. In the first half of today's match, the players didn't get into the rhythm and execute their game well. Meanwhile, the Indonesian players have improved a lot with their tight game, which caused us many difficulties.”
After this match, the coaching staff will continue to review the game with the players, hoping that things will improve and the whole team will perform better. Following this match, the players will recover, review the video footage, and the coaching staff will continue to analyze the match between Indonesia and Myanmar to develop a suitable strategy for the upcoming match against Myanmar.” (HH)